Happy 2009!

Happy 2009 everyone! On New Year's Eve we celebrated the New York ball drop at midnight Eastern time. :-) It was a perfect way to welcome the New Year so that Ellie, Nisa & Maile could enjoy it with their cousins Lucas and Evan. Go to our Flikr page for a photo of the whole gang just after midnight, Eastern time.

The girls finally received their bunk beds after being on order for 3-months. Nisa wanted the top bunk and Ellie wanted the bottom bunk so it all worked out nicely. When we explained how Maile was not allowed to go up on the top bunk Nisa replied, "But it is OK for Bidi Baby because she knows how it feels. One time she crawled over to the ladder and... you know... kind of fell down..."

Maile's speech has been steadily improving. The other day someone spilled pistachio shells all over the kitchen floor. When Roger asked the girls who was responsible, Nisa quickly responded, "Not me!" Then Ellie followed, "Not me!" Finally Maile chimed in saying, "Not me, Ellie did it!" :-)

We had a fun episode of potty training at Grammie's house one morning before bath time. Roger had just taken off Maile's diaper and asked Maile if she needed to go potty. Maile yelled an emphatic, "No!" But the next thing you know Maile is peeing on the floor. So Roger picks Maile up and puts her on the potty. Maile then starts screaming and stops peeing. Roger takes Maile off the potty. Maile stops screaming and starts peeing again. Roger tries one more time to put Maile on the potty. Maile starts screaming again and stops peeing. Finally Roger gives up and just puts Maile back on the floor. Maile keeps screaming and finishes peeing.

Grammie took Ellie and Nisa to see "Marley and Me" in Silverton. Ellie noticed the theater owner who is a very nice gentleman, but prefers women's clothes. Ellie asked Grammie if he was a "Tom-Girl". :-)

One final update is that Nisa started gymnastics last week and after one session the teacher asked Mika to move Nisa up to an advanced "invite-only" class. The teacher said Nisa was very strong and had amazing balance. Most importantly Nisa said she loved it and that she wouldn't quit.